American Radium Society

The heraldry of the Janeway Medal is drawn from the Norse Mythology: Odin, the Allfather with power over the precious minerals of the earth, sought enlightenment for the sons of men. He traveled to Mimir’s Well where Wisdom and Wit lodged hidden. The face of the Janeway Medal shows Odin standing before the giant Mimir, warden of the well, yielding one of his eyes for a draught of the precious water. The reverse medal presents Odin’s two ravens who spent the day flying throughout the expanse of the universe: Hugin (Thought-Reflection) and Munin (Memory-Remembrance) who returned each evening to perch on Odin’s shoulders and whisper in his ears the events and progress observed.

Odin’s physical privation, as a price for wisdom, is symbolic of the self-sacrifice of the heroic pioneers of radium therapy for cancer. Odin’s ravens as shown on the Janeway Medal, have become the symbols of the American Radium Society.

Since 1933, the American Radium Society has sponsored an annual lecture in memory of Doctor Henry H. Janeway (1873-1921), a great American pioneer in the therapeutic use of radium. Originally a large bronze medal, The Janeway Medal was changed to a gold medal in 1971. A special committee of the Society chooses the lecturers on the basis of their outstanding scientific contributions. Each lecturer is presented the handsome Janeway Medal.

Janeway Lectures & Presentations

1933 James Ewing, M.D., New York, New York
“Early Experience in Radium Therapy”

1934 Francis Carter Wood, M.D., New York, New York
“Recent Advances in Experimental Cancer Research”

1935 George E. Pfahler, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“The Protection of the Radiologist”

1936 Curtis F. Burnam, M.D., Baltimore, Maryland
“Early Experience with Radium”

1937 Douglas Quick, M.D., New York, New York
“Carcinoma of the Larynx”

1938 Henry Schmitz, M.D., Chicago, Illinois
“Historical Retrospect of the Treatment of Carcinoma of the Uterus”

1939 Gioacchino Failla, Sc.D., New York, New York
“Some Aspects of the Biological Action of Ionizing Radiation”

1940 Edith H. Quimby, Sc.D., New York, New York
“The Specification of Dosage in Radium Therapy”

1941 Edward H. Skinner, M.D., Kansas City, Missouri
“The Philosophy and Economics of Cancer”

1942 William P. Healy, M.D., New York, New York
“The Role of the Gynecologist in the Field of Cancer”

1946 Frederick O’Brien, M.D., Boston, Massachusetts
“Radium Treatment of Cancer of the Cervix: A Historical Review”

1947 Robert S. Stone, M.D., San Francisco, California
“Neutron Therapy and Specific Ionization”

1948 Sir Sanford Cade, London, England
“The Achievement of Radium in the Fight Against Cancer”

1949 Charles L. Martin, M.D., Dallas, Texas
“Low Intensity Radium Element Needles”

1950 Otto Glasser, Ph.D., Cleveland, Ohio
“Evolution of Radiological Physics as Applied to Isotopes”

1951 H. Dabney Kerr, M.D., Iowa City, Iowa
“Some Thoughts on the Training of a Radiation Therapist”

1952 A. Purdy Stout, M.D., New York, New York
“Intraepithelial Carcinoma of the Larynx”

1953 Leon O. Jacobson, M.D., Chicago, Illinois
“Factors Concerned in Recovery from Radiation Injury”

1954 Lauriston S. Taylor, Sc.D., Bethesda, Maryland
“Education in Radiation Protection”

1955 Herbert M. Parker, F.I.P., Richland, Washington
“The Radiological Sciences”

1956 Lloyd F. Craver, M.D., New York, New York
“Reflections on Malignant Lymphomas”

1956 Simeon T. Cantril, M.D., Seattle, Washington
“The Contributions of Biology to Radium Therapy”

1958 Leonidas R. Marinelli, M.A., Lemont, Illinois
“Natural Radioactivity in the Human’

1959 James T. Case, M.D., Santa Barbara, California
“The Early History of Radium Therapy and the American Radium Society”

1960 William S. MacComb, M.D., Houston, Texas
“The Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer”

1961 Clifford L. Ash, M.D., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
“Oral Cancer: A Twenty-five Year Study”

1962 Virginia Kneeland Frantz, M.D., New York, New York
“Privileges and Challenges in the Study and Treatment of Thyroid Cancer”

1963 A.N. Arneson, M.D., St. Louis, Missouri
“Long Term Observations in Endometrial Cancer”

1964 Harold W. Dargeon, M.D., New York, New York
“Considerations in the Treatment of Reticuloendotheliosis”

1965 T.A. Watson, M.D., London, Ontario, Canada
“Cancer of the Breast”

1966 Gordon P. McNeer, M.D., New York, New York
“The Problem of the Local Recurrence of Malignant Melanoma”

1967 R. Lee Clark, M.D., Houston, Texas
“Systematic Cancer: Philosophy and Modalities of Treatment”

1968 W. Gerald Cosbie, M.D., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
“Cancer Services – How Far Should It Go?”

1969 Franz J. Buschke, M.D., San Francisco, California
“Radiotherapy – Past, Present, and Future”

1970 Gilbert H. Fletcher, M.D., Houston, Texas
“The Cancer of the Uterine Cervix”

1971 Lauren W. Ackerman, M.D., St. Louis, Missouri
“The Pathology of Radiation Effect on Normal and Neoplastic Tissue”

1972 Alfred Gelhorn, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Cancer and Other National Problems”

1973 Juan A. del Regato, M.D., Colorado Springs, Colorado
“Total Body Irradiation in the Treatment of Chronic Lymphogenous Leukemia”

1974 Milford D. Schulz, M.D., Boston, Massachussetts
“The Supervoltage Story”

1975 George C. Lewis, Jr., M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Ovarian Cancer: Multifacet Disease; Multifarious Therapy and Therapists”

1976 Audrey Evans, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Pediatric Cancer Treatment: A Model for Oncology”

1977 Henry S. Kaplan, M.D., Stanford, California
“Fundamental Mechanisms in Combined Modality Therapy of Cancer”

1978 Frank J. Rauscher, Jr., Ph.D., New York, New York
“The National Cancer Program: Progress and Problems”

1979 Oliver H. Beahrs, M.D., Rochester, Minnesota
“Treatment of Squamous Cell Epithelioma of the Anus”

1980 Luther W. Brady, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Malignant Tumors of the Eye”

1981 Morton M. Kligerman, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Pions, Protectors: Examples of a Vigorous Decade in Radiotherapy”

1982 Felix N. Rutledge, M.D., Houston, Texas
“Gynecological Oncology – 1982-2002”

1983 Elliot W. Strong, M.D., New York, New York
“Multidisciplinary Management of Head and Neck Cancer: Update and Prospects”

1984 Willet F. Whitmore, Jr., M.D., New York, New York
“Surgery and/or Irradiation: Some Areas of Confrontation in Urologic Oncology”

1985 Eleanor Montague, M.D., Houston, Texas
“Radiation Therapy and Breast Cancer – Past, Present, and Future”

1986 John S. Laughlin, Ph.D., New York, New York
“Physical Aspects of Radiation Treatment: Some Developments and Implications for the Future”

1987 Herman D. Suit, M.D., Boston, Massachussetts
“Scope of the Problem of Control of the Primary Tumor”

1988 Alfred S. Ketcham, M.D., Miami, Florida
“The Breast Surgeon’s Dilemma”

1989 Seymour H. Levitt, M.D., Minneapolis, Minnesota
“Role of Radiation Therapy in Hodgkin’s Disease: Experience and Controversy”

1990 Alfred G. Knudson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Hereditary Cancer and Tumor Suppressor Genes”

1991 Maurice Tubiana, M.D., Villejuif, France
“The Treatment of Thryroid Cancer by Ionizing Radiation: A Model for Metabolic Radiotherapy”

1992 Eric J. Hall, Sc.D., New York, New York
“Nine Decades of Radiobiology: Is Radiotherapy the Better for It?”

1993 Theodore L. Phillips, M.D., San Francisco, California
“Radiation Effects on Normal Tissue – A Thirty-Year Perspective”

1994 H. Rodney Withers, M.B., B.S., D.Sc., Los Angeles, California
“The Biology and Treatment of Subclinical Metastases”

1995 Lester J. Peters, M.D., East Melbourne, Australia
“Normal Tissue Tolerance Limits: For One or For All?”

1996 Peter H. Wiernik, M.D., Bronx, New York
“What the Study of Leukemia has Taught Us about the Common Neoplasms”

1997 Robert G. Parker, M.D., Los Angeles, California
“Iatrogenic Carcinogenesis: Clinical Implications”

1998 Hervy E. Averette, M.D., Miami, Florida
“Modern Therapy for Cancer of the Uterine Cervix”

1999 Sarah S. Donaldson, M.D., Palo Alto, California
“Hodgkin’s Disease – Finding the Balance Between Cure and Late Effects”

2000 James D. Cox, M.D., FACR, Houston, Texas
“Clinical Science and Patient Care: Evidence in Oncology

2001 Jimmie C. Holland. M.D., New York, New York
“Improving the Human Side of Cancer Care”

2002 Richard Hoppe, M.D., Stanford, California
“Hodgkin’s Disease, a Model for Interdisciplinary Cancer Management”

2003 Carlos A. Perez, M.D., St. Louis, Missouri
“Past, Present Issues and Future Challenges and Opportunities”

2004 Samuel A. Wells, Jr., M.D., Durham, North Carolina
“The Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia”

2005 Jean-Claude Horiot, M.D., Ph.D., Dijon-Bourgogne, France
“Radiation Oncologist, Endangered Species or Phoenix?”

2006 Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Bethesda, Maryland
"Progress with a Purpose: Eliminating the Suffering and Death Due to Cancer"

2007 Harry Bartelink, M.D., The Netherlands Cancer Institute
"Moving Towards a New Era in Radiotherapy"

2008 John Mendelsohn, M.D., U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
"Targeting EGF Receptors: The Journey Continues"